By PR | 10:15 AM December 01, 2025
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Bam Aquino has hailed the unprecedented P1.038 trillion allocation for the education sector, labeling it the “highest ever” education budget in the nation’s history and a critical pivot of public funds away from perennial corruption-tainted infrastructure, specifically non-essential flood control projects.
The massive budget boost, which secured final approval in the Senate, follows a sustained legislative effort to re-channel billions of pesos from appropriations deemed vulnerable to inefficiency and mismanagement.
Aquino champions education reforms, emphasizing that the successful realignment represents a prioritization of human capital development over questionable public works.
Championing the budget as a landmark victory for Filipino youth, Senator Aquino underscored the sheer magnitude of the allocation, which is set to fundamentally reshape the educational landscape from basic to tertiary levels.
“Itong budget na may pinakamataas na pondo para sa edukasyon sa ating kasaysayan — p1.38 trillion for education.mayroon tayong P65 billion para sa 30,000 classrooms. mayroon tayong P27 billion para sa ating school feeding program and of course, 5.7 million Filipino students ang may libreng kolehiyo,” he said.
The Senate significantly increased the funding for classroom construction, raising the allocation from the initial P13.2 billion proposed in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to a substantial P65.9 billion—a massive P52.7 billion jump.
This funding is explicitly targeted at aggressively addressing the country’s estimated 165,000-classroom backlog, which Aquino warned could swell to over 200,000 without immediate intervention.
The budget leverages the newly established Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, authored by Aquino, which allows DepEd to partner with local government units (LGUs) and civil society to expedite construction.
To combat student malnutrition, the Senate also pushed to dramatically expand the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) budget from P11.7 billion to P28.6 billion. This P16.9-billion increase will allow the program to extend from the current 120 feeding days to a full 200 school days for all Kindergarten and Grade 1 students, with targeted feeding for wasted and severely wasted learners up to Grade 6.
The landmark Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (Free College Law) authored by Aquino remains the cornerstone of the higher education funding. The budget fully supports the implementation of the law, ensuring that 5.7 million Filipino students can pursue college degrees without the burden of tuition and miscellaneous fees in 113 State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) and Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs).
Beyond free tuition, the budget also secures targeted assistance for vulnerable students and will receive allocation for dagdag allowance sa mga kabataang nangangailangan.
Assistance for student nurses requiring help with their RLE (Related Learning Experience) fees.
And support and allowances for students at risk of dropping out ensuring continuation in their studies.
“Meron pa pong dagdag allowance sa mga kabataang nangangailangan, sa mga Nurse na nangangailangan ng tulong sa RLE, at syempre yung students at fear at risk of dropping out, meron din pong tulong,” he said.
While celebrating the massive win in senate appropriations, Senator Aquino issued a strong call for public vigilance noting that the budget still faces a crucial final hurdle: the Bicameral Conference Committee (BICAM).
” Ito po kailangan nating bantayan. Hindi pa tapos ang laban. Magkakaroon pa ng BICAM,Kailangan nating bantayan na yung lumabas dito po sa BICAM at mapirmahan ng Presidente ay isang budget na talagang mahalaga para sa Kabataang Pilipino, ” he said.
In his final statement, positions the P1.38 trillion education budget as a moral victory for accountability and the nation’s future.
“Kaya sama-sama po tayo dito, bantayan natin ang hinahanap ng Kabataan — EDUKASYON HINDI KORAPSYON,” Aquino said.
